


Thief of Hearts

by Bara_no_Uta



Category: Carmen Sandiego (Cartoon 2019)
Genre: Cuddles, F/F, Femslash February, Femslash February 2019, Minor Injuries, Self-Esteem Issues, Teamwork, Trapped
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-04
Updated: 2019-02-04
Packaged: 2019-10-22 03:17:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,464
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17655050
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bara_no_Uta/pseuds/Bara_no_Uta
Summary: Julia tried to take deep breaths to calm herself down before speaking. “The entrance caved in.”[...]“I’m glad you got away. Are you hurt?” [...]Julia looked up at her, a little surprised. Then again, from what she knew of her, Carmen wasn’t the type to book it just to save her own hide and leave somebody behind when they were potentially in need. “No, I don’t think so. Just shaken, I suppose.”“Understandably.” She glanced down the tunnels. “I’m guessing this happened because the Inspector—” even if she still didn’t know whether he was actually an inspector anymore “—is on his way to the other side?”She averted her eyes. Telling her meant they wouldn’t be able to catch her by surprise. Of course, she technically should probably be capturing Carmen right now. But Carmen was also the only one between the two of them who knew the way out of there, so that wasn’t really an option right now. If she arrested Carmen, she would end up completely lost. Besides, with this entrance of the cave inaccessible, what was she supposed to do – carry her to the other side? There was no feasible option other than to work together.---Written for Femslash February Day 3: Lost





	Thief of Hearts

**Author's Note:**

> Full disclosure that I know little about how caves/tunnels work so sorry about that.

               Just as there were some artifacts that were undersea, there were also some underground. In fact, there seemed to be no end to the challenging locations she needed to find things in.

               If there was one thing Carmen loved, though, it was a challenge. She often did her best work when rising to meet one. But this situation… was legitimately dangerous, even for her. There was no guarantee that her devices would have signal in the tunnels, so if she ran into trouble, she might be completely on her own – something that set this far apart from all of the other risky situations she entered into in her line of work. She was good at reading maps and memorizing layouts, but in a cave, it was still far too easy to end up cornered, particularly as there were only two places to leave or enter the cave from. Most concerning of all, the structural integrity was lacking, and if things collapsed, she could end up trapped or killed.

               “You _sure_ you want to do this, Red?”

               “I can handle it. If we get disconnected, let Zack and Ivy know to meet me on the other side. I memorized the layout of the tunnels from the map you sent me. It should take about an hour for me to get in, get the jewels, and get out. If I’m there longer than that – or, you know, one of you see or hear things collapsing – and our comms are disconnected, you three have my absolute permission to send a search party my way. Just please make sure that Zack and Ivy don’t go in themselves, if you can. I already instructed them not to, but if they get worried…”

               So she could risk her safety, but the rest of them couldn’t? He knew it wasn’t like that, though. She had training and experience that they lacked, so frankly, she had far better survival skills. It just wasn’t easy to sit back and watch her do this. “I’ll do my best.” That was all he could promise. “Make sure you come back to us, okay? …Carmen.”

               She smiled, bittersweet as she knew the best she could guarantee was an echo: “I’ll do my best.” When he sighed, she offered a mental apology. The truth was that she was plenty nervous herself. But ignoring an item from the list not only meant someone else could get to it first, but in this case, also that someone else might put themselves in danger looking for it. So, feeling that it was necessary to do this, she was trying to override her nerves with statements reflecting confidence.

               Her professors at V.I.L.E. had talked from time to time about ideas like “mind over matter.” While a positive attitude wouldn’t make up for a lack of other skills entirely, a self-defeating attitude could cause an otherwise skillful thief to lose the battle.

               She was as prepared as she could be – trail mix, water, batteries for her flashlight, and other emergency supplies in her bag, her plans with the rest of the group prepared – and with that in mind, she had decided it would simply be counterproductive to focus on the risks. Instead, she reminded herself of her plans and skills that would aid her survival no matter what might happen in these tunnels… even if there was no guarantee they would save her if the ceiling suddenly collapsed or something.

               “I’m going in.” She waited a few seconds out of consideration, but when Player made no objections, she entered the cave.

               For a while, it was just a straightforward tunnel. She kept walking in silence until reaching the first fork, at which point she decided to check in. “Still hear me?”

               No response.

               “Player?”

               Alright. Apparently they had lost connection. She pulled out her phone, on the off chance she may still be able to reach Zack or Ivy, but truthfully, she wasn’t surprised to see that it had no signal. The comms she used to keep in touch with Player were better technology, so if they had lost connection, it would be odd if her phone hadn’t.

               So, she was on her own now.

               No matter. She still had every confidence in her ability to navigate the tunnels. Carmen didn’t have a photographic memory, but when it came to maps and geography, it was just something that came naturally to her. She could trace in her head exactly where each of the two forks ahead of her would lead. In this case, to get to the jewels, she took the fork to the right.

               Middle path. Right. Left. Middle.

               The jewels should be right at the end of this dead end. Carmen got out her spade and started digging. And digging, and digging… It certainly would have gone much faster with an actual shovel, but she couldn’t exactly tuck one of those into her bag and carry it around. Not easily, at least.

               “Got the jewels,” she said automatically, though she knew Player still couldn’t hear her. She placed them in her bag and set out to retrace her steps.

               “Carmen Sandiego must still be in there. You go in on this end, and I’ll go around to the other. You on the one side, me on the other, she’ll be trapped! There will be no way out of this for her,” Devineaux said, smug in this plan. “She has signed her own arrest warrant tonight!”

               Julia nodded, despite her misgivings as to whether she could actually single-handedly arrest Carmen. The woman had evaded capture on many occasions, and trapping her was only half the battle. Besides, Carmen could easily run back into the caves and try to wait them out, or lose them in the caves somewhere, which could lead to one of them becoming horribly lost. But she had already expressed her misgivings to Devineaux and was brushed off as usual.

               The two of them sat in silence a moment, her waiting for him to park and him waiting for her to get out of the car. Finally, he asked, “Well, what are you waiting for?”

               “…You aren’t going to park the car?”

               “Why would I do that? I still have to go to the other side.”

               She looked at the hill the cave was built into. It looked possible to drive over, but… “Sir, I’m not sure the structural integrity of the cave is sufficient to—” She stopped when he gave her the _look_. The one that she knew meant he didn’t think what she was saying was important and he wasn’t going to listen. Frustration bubbled up in her chest. “If the cave collapses, we could all be killed.”

               “Nonsense! I have personally investigated this cave and I say it should be fine!”

               She really wondered what his investigations had consisted of, but it was clear her words weren’t going through. Julia sighed to herself, shoulders falling. “Alright.” She got out of the car and closed the door behind her, trying to convince herself to believe that it really would be fine. Maybe it was sturdier than it looked.

               She entered the cave and walked partway in, knowing that if she was too far out, it would be all too easy for Carmen to escape if she managed to run past her. She stopped around the time that she reached the first fork and prepared to wait.

               A few minutes later, the cave rumbled, Devineaux undoubtedly driving over it. Rocks came tumbling down behind her, and she did the only thing she could think of: Julia ran. She wasn’t familiar with the layout of the cave, but staying alive was more important to her than this specific opportunity to catch Carmen, and if she couldn’t find her way out, she would just have to trust that A.C.M.E. would rescue her somehow.

               Carmen continued to make her way through the cave. She was getting close to the entrance, and while it was too soon to be relieved at having made it out safe – no, she knew better than to celebrate before it was a guarantee – she was feeling good about her chances at this point.

               Then, she heard footsteps. Quick footsteps, like somebody was running, and the footsteps were getting closer. That lack of subtlety could easily be Devineaux, in which case she should probably run the other direction, but it could also be Zack or Ivy becoming too worried to keep waiting, in which case she should reassure them. She wasn’t sure where she was in comparison to the schedule, so it was entirely possible she was late, or that she was early and they had simply panicked.

               As Carmen was peering around the corner, she realized she had misjudged the distance between herself and the other person, the cave’s echoes throwing her off. The next thing she knew, the person slammed into her, knocking her onto her back from the momentum and landing on top of her.

               Julia Argent.

               Her first thought was to get up immediately, because Julia could potentially be there to apprehend her. But the other woman was currently shaking so hard she wasn’t sure Julia would be able to handcuff her anyway, so her concern won out and she stayed.

               “Jules?” she called out, her voice soft.

               Julia quickly sat up and climbed off of her as though burned, though as soon as she processed having done so, she realized she would have been much more able to arrest Carmen had she not moved. Too late now, though; she was too shaken to think clearly, she supposed. Julia realized then that the cave was no longer shaking, at least where they currently were. They were safe for now… if not also potentially trapped.

               Carmen sat up too, shifting so that she was just opposite Julia. “What happened?”

               Julia tried to take deep breaths to calm herself down before speaking. Carmen was supposed to be her enemy, sort of, and it was embarrassing for her enemy to see her so distraught. “The entrance caved in.”

               If Julia was at this entrance, she could only assume that Chase was at or on his way over to the other entrance. Actually, she had a feeling that he was on his way there and that was somehow related to the entrance, knowing him… If that was the case, their safest option was probably to stay put for a few minutes until he was done doing whatever the heck he was doing, if this area had survived it.

               “I’m glad you got away. Are you hurt?” Her voice was warm. Truthfully, she had never regarded Julia as an enemy. Not Chase, either, really. Ultimately, they were more or less on the same side, even if Chase and Julia didn’t realize it yet.

               Julia looked up at her, a little surprised. Then again, from what she knew of her, Carmen wasn’t the type to book it just to save her own hide and leave somebody behind when they were potentially in need. “No, I don’t think so. Just shaken, I suppose.”

               “Understandably.” She glanced down the tunnels. “I’m guessing this happened because the Inspector—” even if she still didn’t know whether he was actually an inspector anymore “—is on his way to the other side?”

               She averted her eyes. Telling her meant they wouldn’t be able to catch her by surprise. Of course, she technically should probably be capturing Carmen right now. But Carmen was also the only one between the two of them who knew the way out of there, so that wasn’t really an option right now. If she arrested Carmen, she would end up completely lost. Besides, with this entrance of the cave inaccessible, what was she supposed to do – carry her to the other side? There was no feasible option other than to work together. “Yes.”

               “If we wait a while, then it should probably be safe to go check if the other entrance is accessible.”

               Julia nodded, though truthfully, she felt pretty miserable in that moment. She was sure he would scold her for failing to apprehend Carmen, and even though she recognized that she had _tried_ to warn him that the structure might collapse and he was the one who decided to drive over it anyway, that didn’t make it much easier. Maybe she should have insisted more.

               “What’s wrong?” she asked gently. Julia seemed to be calming down, but she could tell the woman was troubled by something. She just didn’t know what that something was.

               Her first instinct was to say it was nothing, or to otherwise try to avoid the question. When she met Carmen’s gaze, however, she saw such genuine concern there that she kind of… wanted to actually answer. It was just like that day in the train: there was just _something about her_ that made Julia want to be honest. Want to know her. Want to let Carmen know her. It was stupid and reckless, she was sure, but she still found herself giving a real answer. “I _told_ him this would be a likely outcome. But I’m sure he’s going to scold me for failing to apprehend you. But even if I did manage that right now, that would mean carrying you to the other side and somehow just knowing where that even is. And now that you know he’s going to be waiting, I’m sure you’re going to come up with some way to avoid getting arrested…”

               Julia was in a pretty difficult situation. It was true that she wasn’t going to let herself be captured, so those predictions were likely accurate. “I’m sorry. Will your bosses at least see your side?” Already, she was planning to give Julia the jewels she had found, but she needed to figure out how she could do so without it coming across as a gesture of pity.

               “Yes, I believe they will.” There was only so much easier that made things, though.

               Carmen could tell Julia wasn’t really reassured by that knowledge, but she wasn’t sure what else she could do to help. “Shall we go see if we can get to the other entrance?”

               Julia nodded and stood. When Carmen followed suit, however, she quickly fell back to the ground.

               “What’s wrong?” Julia asked, crouching next to her, expression filled with concern.

               “I think I must have landed awkwardly earlier and hurt my ankle.” So much for being able to get away from Devineaux. She might really be in a pinch now…

               Guilt rose in her chest. “Do you think you’ll be able to walk if you lean on me?”

               She wasn’t sure, but she would have to try. Otherwise, they were stuck. Julia had already said she didn’t know the way out, so it was dependent on her. “Let’s find out.”

               Helping Carmen up, Julia lent her shoulder. Her face felt hot from being this close to Carmen, but she tried to ignore thoughts of that nature. “Does this feel alright?”

               Carmen was standing now, even if not entirely on her own power. It hurt a little, but she knew she could push past it. “Yes. At the end of this tunnel, we’ll take the middle fork.”

               Slowly, they started to walk. Julia glanced at Carmen, who seemed to be concentrating. She wondered if the woman was in pain. “I’m sorry for crashing into you. And for not being able to talk Devineaux out of driving over the cave.”

               She almost had to laugh at that – he had decided to _drive over it?!_ – but held back, in part because of her own pain and in part because Julia seemed to be feeling so bad. Instead, she offered her a reassuring smile. “It’s not your fault. He’s the one who didn’t listen to you, and running into me was just a mistake. One that anybody could’ve made, because you were just trying to stay alive.”

               Julia smiled sadly. “Maybe you’re right. Thank you.”

               It seemed pretty clear that Julia didn’t actually believe her words, or at the very least, that she still felt guilty. Carmen’s chest ached in empathy, and she wished again that she knew how to reassure her.

               Carmen guided them through the tunnels, until they reached a dead end. It hadn’t been such in the map Player had sent, and she had a feeling that a certain car was to blame. Whatever the cause, the result was the same: both entrances were sealed off.

               “Please tell me there’s another path?” Julia asked, anxiety audible as she spoke.

               Carmen started to answer when she heard another voice:

               “Carmen?! Carmen?!”

               “Player!” She must be back online! Thank goodness. She knew Julia was probably confused, but explanations could come _after_ coordinating help. “Can you hear me?”

               “Yes! I’m so glad you’re okay! Where are you?”

               “I’m at the opposite end of the cave from where I came in – or at least, close to it. Both entrances have caved in. Inspector Chase Devineaux and Julia Argent came to find me. I’m not sure where he is – he might be on the other side of the cave-in, but he could also be hurt, or lost somewhere in the tunnels. I’m with Jules. I fell earlier and hurt my ankle, and I can’t walk on my own. Can you guys send help?”

               “On it! I’ll contact Zack and Ivy and we’ll put together a rescue team. Just stay put. I don’t wanna get disconnected again.”

               “For sure.” With that handled, she turned to Julia. “I’m guessing you heard all of that?”

               “Yes.” She tried not to think too much about the fact that she now technically knew who it was that Carmen was working with. …If ‘Player’ could be considered an identity, that was. “Shall we sit?”

               Carmen nodded, and they sat down with their backs against the wall. “I have water and trail mix, if you need some. I’m not sure how long it will be.”

               “Thank you.”

               As they waited, the cold of the cave started to seep in to Julia’s awareness. She drew her knees closer.

               Carmen looked her over, trying to discern what exactly was causing the shift in posture. “Cold?”

               Embarrassed at being caught, she smiled sheepishly. “A little.”

               She thought a moment, then reached into her bag to retrieve her hoodie. “This might be warmer than your jacket,” she said.

               Her cheeks warmed again. “Thank you…” This felt like something she really shouldn’t be doing, but she slipped the hoodie on anyway. It helped, though she still felt cold. When she started to shiver anyway, Carmen frowned.

               “Okay, c’mere.” She unbuttoned her coat and motioned for Julia to come closer. “Not to be weird, but I don’t want you getting hypothermia.”

               She hesitated, not sure if it was really okay to accept. It was true that they had no way of knowing how long help could take to reach them, though. Julia scooted closer and leaned into Carmen’s side, feeling like her face probably was approaching the color of Carmen’s coat.

               The coat which Carmen was currently shifting to wrap around both of them as best as she could.

               She had to admit to herself that this was a lot warmer, albeit very, very embarrassing. She wondered if it was wrong of her to accept the offer when Carmen had no idea that she was attracted to her, even if she truly had no ulterior motives.

               Sitting there in silence had felt a little awkward before, but being this close, it felt really, way too intimate. “So… tell me about yourself?”

               That almost made her giggle, the phrasing reminiscent of a first date and seeming quite at odds with their present physical proximity. “You already know my job, and that I like history… I like to read in my spare time, as well.” She faltered, suddenly feeling uncertain as to what else she should share, judging herself as boring and assuming Carmen wouldn’t want to hear more.

               “What kinds of things do you like to read?”

               “I read a lot of nonfiction, mostly history and biographies. And… sometimes fiction. Fantasy, romance.” _Romance between two women,_ she decided it better not to clarify.

               Admittedly, Carmen had a soft spot for fiction herself every once in a while. It was in rather short supply on V.I.L.E. “That’s pretty cool. How’d you get into history?”

               She thought about it. “I’m not sure. I think I’ve just always enjoyed it. Even when I was little, it was my favorite class.” Realizing that she was the one answering all the questions, she decided to return the question. “Will you tell me about yourself?”

               Carmen smiled, mentally acknowledging that it would be safer not to. She didn’t know what Julia would do with any information she provided, after all. Yet, fiction wasn’t the only thing she had a soft spot for. “I can’t give away my secrets, you know, but… I really love geography. It’s made me really happy that in this job I’ve been able to travel so much.”

               Fascinating. She wanted to know how Carmen became interested in geography, but she couldn’t resist the question that was on her mind: “How did you become a thief?” There were so many questions she had about it and about Carmen’s motivations. She knew it was entirely possible Carmen wouldn’t be willing to answer, but she had to at least try asking.

               She thought it over, trying to decide exactly how much it was safe to say. “Can you keep this between us?”

               Part of her felt that she probably wasn’t supposed to agree, but even so, she did. “Okay.”

               “I won’t say too much about them, but basically, I was raised by thieves. I was abandoned by the side of the road in Argentina as a baby, and they took me in. Except, it turned out that they weren’t who they said they were, and are actually… some pretty bad people there. I’m trying to stop them.”

               Understanding dawned on Julia as things clicked into place. Carmen’s connection to the rumored V.I.L.E., the reason she seemed to only steal from other thieves… “Thank you for telling me that.”

               She smiled, wondering if it would be too gay to say something silly like that she would probably tell Julia just about anything she wanted to know. Then again, judging by how Julia had looked at her and responded to her today, maybe she ought to go for it. She shifted to be able to look into Julia’s eyes. “I’d probably tell you anything you wanted to know.”

               Her face colored brightly, and as Carmen settled back into her side, Julia feared the woman would be able to somehow feel the pounding of her pulse. She couldn’t even think of a good response. Was Carmen flirting with her? No way. It had to be her imagination. She thought about asking, but feared the response she might get if she was wrong.

               “How did you get with Interpol?” she changed the subject casually.

               The question surprised her. “I wanted to make a difference,” she admitted. “And I thought being able to travel would be a nice part of the job… though maybe that was naïve of me, since there’s not much time for things like sightseeing on the job.”

               “Hmm…” Should she go for it? Yeah. She was gonna go for it. “I don’t leave for my next destination for a couple of days… Would you like to do some ‘sightseeing’ tomorrow? Maybe with some dinner?”

               Startled, she pulled back to gauge Carmen’s expression. “Are… Are you asking me on a date?”

               “Only if you want it to be,” she replied, a smirk crossing her features. She was pretty sure Julia did want that, and if not, well, that was her decision.

               She probably shouldn’t. If A.C.M.E. found out, would she be fired? For going on a date with the very criminal they were trying to catch… But she wanted to _so_ badly. “Yes. I would like that a lot, actually.”

               “Me too.”

               The two of them decided on a meeting place and time, and Julia settled back next to Carmen. She felt restless with excitement now, and suddenly it seemed like even if Devineaux became angry with her for not apprehending Carmen, it would be okay.

               “By the way… I want you to take these,” Carmen said, deciding now was as good a time to give her the jewels as any other.” She took them from her bag and gave them to Julia. “I know you’ll get them where they belong. Plus, then you don’t have to worry about coming back empty-handed.”

               It wouldn’t make a difference to Devineaux, but she appreciated the gesture nonetheless. “Thank you.” Julia put them in her own bag.

               “I’m sorry for putting you in a weird position,” Carmen acknowledged. “With tomorrow, I mean, and since I know you probably can’t exactly tell anybody else.”

               Julia shook her head. “I appreciate the thought, but…”

               Suddenly, they heard a loud sound. It was like a drill – presumably, somebody was drilling through the rocks.

               “We should probably get a little further away!” Carmen called out over the noise, concerned about flying debris.

               Acknowledging that, Julia stood and helped Carmen do the same. They moved as far as they could without being out of sight before sitting back down, since Carmen couldn’t stand on her own. Julia removed the hoodie and handed it back to Carmen.

               It was difficult to be heard over the sound of the drill, so Carmen just smiled as she put it in her bag, adjusting her coat back around her own body and buttoning it again. With a glance at the rocks to ensure she had enough time so as not to be caught should Devineaux be among the rescue team somehow, she kissed Julia’s cheek.

               Julia’s face flushed again. Before she could come up with a coherent response, there was a crash, and they saw that the wall of rock had successfully been broken.

               “That was awesome!” Zack cheered, while Ivy rushed to Carmen’s side.

               “Carmen! I’m so glad you’re okay!” she exclaimed, hugging her. “I’ll help you out of here.”

               Apparently, the rescue team consisted only of the two of them. “Is the Inspector okay?”

               “Oh, yeah. We told him he’d better go around to the other side to find his partner so that we’d have time to get you out of here.”

               Julia stood, trying to push away the ‘forgotten’ feeling as she followed after them. It was soon calmed when Carmen turned to offer her a smile. They would have to keep their date a secret, so she understood and just beamed back in response.


End file.
